Saturday, 9 January 2010

"It is axiomatic in government that hornets' nests should be left unstirred, cans of worms should remain unopened, and cats should be left firmly in bags and not set among the pigeons. Ministers should also leave boats unrocked, nettles ungrasped, refrain from taking bulls by the horns, and resolutely turn their backs to the music."

I dropped in this quote from the master of do-nothing, Sir Humphrey Appleby from TV's Yes Minister, as it demonstrates the approach by the NSW government to same sex adoption. NSW Minister Linda Burney has been quoted as saying that the government decided not to change the law to include same sex adoption as it was "too complex" and "sensitive" and that there would need to be "more discussion". In the process the government has rejected the approach of a parliamentary committee which recommended the changes.

In other words, the NSW Labor government proposes that the changes do not occur- to quote Sir Humphrey again: "in the fullness of time", "at the appropriate juncture".

The decision has meant, inevitably, that there it a hotch potch of laws concerning adoption in Australia. Same sex adoptions can occur in WA and Victoria, and in limited circumstances in Tasmania, but not elsewhere. As a result, there have been inevitable calls for national, uniform laws to allow same sex adoption.

Back in May, Fairfax was reporting that the NSW government was not going to support same sex adoption, in order to keep the support of Fred Nile in the Upper House. Rev. Fred Nile was one of those instrumental in opposing the original marchers for LGBT equal rights in NSW that morphed into the mardi gras.

Tuesday, 5 January 2010

I hope that everyone had a nice break over Christmas and the New Year. I did, and am now back into it. The reality for LGBTI people in Australia is that there remains discrimination, some hidden and some obvious, some deliberate, and some caused by bureaucratic mindsets and lack of thought. Those who are most discriminated against are transgendered people who still struggle to be heard.

The other realities are that there will be changes this year in law to make it more fair, and there will be changes in caselaw reflecting arrangements for property settlement and children for LGBTI people.

2009 brought tremendous change in laws for LGBTI people. By way of examples:

a raft of discriminatory laws were removed by the Rudd Government, in line with election promises, covering areas such as family law, Centrelink, public sector superannuation, and Medicare.

NSW also got rid of a raft of discriminatory laws.

de facto couples (including same sex couples) now have uniform laws on property settlement throughout Australia (excluding WA and SA). South Australia still discriminates in not recognising same sex couples for property settlement purposes.

the push for surrogacy laws continued. However this was tempered in Queensland with the regressive Surrogate Parenthood Act 1988 remaining in force. The Bligh Government has a bill to legalise altruistic surrogacy (but still to penalise those who use overseas commercial surrogacy clinics), but the LNP has its alternative version- to exclude same sex couples.

Queensland updated its adoption laws- but specifically excluded same sex couples from being eligible to adopt.

a gay couple were given standing in the Federal Magistrates Court to seek orders about a child for which neither man was the father, but both of whom were arguably considered father figures. The mother opposed their being able to go to court. Her former lesbian partner supported the men's efforts.

the Federal Magistrates Court decided that for a lesbian couple to be recognised as "parents" under the Family Law Act, they had to be a de facto couple at the time of conception, not the time of birth.

2016 winner of a Queensland Law Society Equity and Diversity Award: The Australian Gay and Lesbian Law Blog: " (a)strong and pioneering commitment to the rights of and interests of LGBTI people in Australia" Queensland Law Society May, 2016

I am one of Australia's leading surrogacy and divorce lawyers. I was admitted in 1987, and have been an accredited family law specialist since 1996.
I am a partner of Harrington Family Lawyers, Brisbane.
I am an international representative on the American Bar Association's Artificial Reproductive Technology Committee. I am the first international Fellow of the American Academy of Assisted Reproductive Treatment Attorneys. I am one of 33 Australian practising lawyers who are Fellows of the International Academy of Family Lawyers, one of the most prestigious family law groups in the world. I am a founding member of the Australian Chapter of the Association of Family and Conciliation Courts.
I have written and spoken extensively about family law, domestic violence and surrogacy.
I have handled pretty well every type of family law case there is known in over 30 years, and have advised surrogacy/fertility clients from throughout Australia and at last count 24 countries overseas. I have obtained surrogacy orders in Qld, NSW, Vic and SA- the only lawyer to have done so.